What was believed to be a forgone conclusion has finally become official as nine of the 12 schools in the SAC voted yes to accept the six KVA schools.

“I’m happy the process is over and we know what our future is,” K-Christian athletic director Jerry Weesies said. “I’m excited to take the necessary steps to bring all of us together in one conference.”

Coloma of the Wolverine Conference and Eau Claire of the Red Arrow Conference will also be joining the SAC, bringing the new conference to a total of 20 teams.

Weesies said he anticipated a series of meetings with all of the athletic directors would be needed to organize the conference’s divisions, schedule and constitution, among other things.

“We have several different mockups and alignments that we feel would work best for everyone involved, not only to create a decent travel time, but also the level of competition in the league,” Fennville athletic director Travis Spaman said in April. “As far as different divisions, we have some mockups mapped out, but obviously nothing set in stone because we still have to hear back from the schools we have invited.”

The disappearance of the KVA appeared to be unavoidable throughout the course of the school year with drastic changes already on the horizon.

At the beginning of the year, the KVA expressed interest in expanding to increase stability. The SAC also entertained the idea of expanding and eventually, the two conferences communicated mutual interest and the SAC asked for more information on the six KVA schools with similar enrollment.

“On the one hand, it’s kind of sad to see the KVA go,” Weesies said. “The KVA has been around for a long time and it’s gone through some changes and to all of a sudden to see it go, it’s sad.

“But to know that some of us were struggling with numbers, we weren’t a strong eight or 10-team league anymore. I think it’s exciting that we’re going to be in a conference with plenty of teams and stability.”

Parchment and Comstock, the two KVA teams not invited to join the SAC, will be a part of the KVA for one more year before being left without a conference.

Both Parchment athletic director Jason Misner and Comstock athletic director Justin Ansel acknowledged there is mutual interest between the schools and the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference (BCS), but nothing is official.

“The thing that’s going to be hardest for me is the group of guys and girls in the KVA to work with are phenomenal,” Misner said. “It’s sad to think about the tradition and everything the KVA has and it’s going away.